Trillium Chef Ryan Leinonen next up in the Stanley's Great Roads to Great Chef Series

Simplicity at its finest: Stanley's Great Roads to Great Chef Series

Barb Boyer Buck

Posted:
03/05/2014 11:53:57 AM MST

Chef Ryan Leinonen next up in the Stanley's Great Roads to Great Chef Series (Richard Cummings)

"Cook with your heart, not with your hands." Chef/owner Ryan Leinonen of Denver's Trillium will be featured at the Stanley Hotel's Great Roads to Great Chef series March 7 and 8 at Table.
While still very young, Leinonen discovered greater success when he got over his tendency to over-think and allowed his instincts and passion steer the course. "I try to let my heart guide me through life, as it usually takes the simplest route," he said. "If you follow this rule, and how it translates to life, you should never go wrong."
Some of the simplest ingredients are magic in Leinonen hands. "I'm very attached to Maldon Salt," he said, "the texture and 'soft' saltiness bring a nice finish to almost every dish I use it on." All kinds of salt - including Pink Himalayan, Hawaiian Coral, Brittany Gray, several varieties of smoke salt - are his favorite ingredients to work with. Butter, too, is something he cannot live without.
"It makes your pastry dough blow apart," he said, "it's awesome in sauces." Hollandaise and beurre blanc could not exist without butter. "It is so versatile in its many forms, it takes on different flavors, such as making a brown butter." What is corn on the cob or lobster without melted or clarified butter? Or bread, for that matter? At Trillium, the house-baked bread is served with whipped butter. "Simplistic greatness at its best," said Leinonen.
At the age of 16, he began working in a small bistro in his hometown in Michigan.

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A few years later, he joined the prestigious culinary program at Schoolcraft's College where he learned from some of the country's top chefs. He earned a bachelor's degree in hospitality management with an emphasis in business from Eastern Michigan University while working full time in some of the state's top restaurants.
In 2003, he became aware of Colorado's "budding restaurant scene" and moved to Denver with his wife, Taffy. "I developed great relationships with local farmers, ranchers, and organic purveyors to bring a fresh and simple perspective to my menus, while overseeing some of the finest restaurants on Colorado's front range, including Colt & Gray, Root Down, and The Kitchen (Boulder)," he said. Throughout his career working in fast-paced, fine dining kitchens, he gained extensive experience in French, Scandinavian, Italian, and new American cuisine.
In 2005, he was invited to cook at the James Beard House in New York City with the team from The Kitchen.
Leinonen opened Trillium in Denver's ballpark downtown area in 2011. In his kitchen of dreams, he uses the best culinary traditions of American and Scandinavian cuisine, marrying both techniques to make unique and tasty dishes. "We focus on a seasonally evolving menu," he said, "and produce almost everything in house from scratch while aiming to stay as local as possible for sourcing our product."
One notable exception: fresh fish is flown in from the Great Lakes regions, "for pickling, smoking, and curing for our 'Smorgasbord' menu," he said. Trillium features wine from small producers, "eclectic beer offerings and hand-crafted cocktails" in its beverage program.
In his unique and varied menu created for this weekend's event, Leinonen will include cauliflower, sea beans, smoke raaka, "steak & eggs" (check out Trillium's website for clues on this new twist of an old American classic), orange juniper powder, and Dumplings Chapeau.
Leinonen is looking forward to the weekend and being at the Stanley.
"I've never been there before," he said, "so it will be fun to take in the sights, meet some talented people, and put out some stellar food with their team."
Leinonen knew his whole life what he wanted to, and has made his dream come true. "Whether it was a plethora of Finnish and Polish food flowing through my home as a young child, growing up watching Julia Child and Yan Can Cook on PBS, or cooking for myself after school because both of my parents worked, I've always been into food."
By the time he was in culinary school at age 19, "I knew I wanted to make a career out of my passion and someday own my own restaurant."
He is now two years into his dream job and life: "I wouldn't trade it for anything!"